Roll Up for the Magical Mystery Tour (again)

Roll Up for the Magical Mystery Tour (again)

By Aaron Kupferberg

www.powerpopaholic.com

On September 1967 The Beatles embarked on making their third film, with help from Richard Lester who directed A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and Help! (1965). The band was in uncharted waters after the death of long time manager Brian Epstein, and to prevent additional tax levies by the the government the band formed Apple Corps. “Magical Mystery Tour” was the first film project directed by the entire band under that banner. It was a loose unscripted free for all, dreamt up by Paul McCartney on a flight from the US to the UK earlier that year. The “plot” was scribbled by Ringo, a sheet of paper with a circle drawn on it. Most of “Magical Mystery Tour” was filmed in a rented coach, filled with friends and acquaintances, Beatles office staff, a camera crew, and a handful of experienced actors, rambling around the English countryside one holiday weekend.

It debuted on British TV and to say it was a disaster is an understatement. Critics called it “Positively the worst programme I can remember being on any channel,” declared one viewer. “I think a lot of people were looking for a plot,” McCartney explained, “and they didn’t get one.” At the time, the Beatles were still bathed in the glow of “Sgt. Pepper” and seemingly invincible to any serious criticism. This proved them to be fallible and human, and the result of four talented musicians who proved to be pretty lame filmmakers without professionals to guide them. Or were they?

What is thankfully not overlooked is the music. It proved to be truly wonderful and the soundtrack contained some of the best Beatles music ever made. The restoration of Magical Mystery Tour has been overseen by Paul Rutan Jr. of Eque Inc., the same company that handled the much acclaimed restoration of Yellow Submarine. The soundtrack work was done at Abbey Road Studios by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. Trivia note: The house band near the end of the film can be heard singing “Death Cab for Cutie” (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, whose first album was produced by Paul McCartney in the background of the scene). This was the inspiration for the Grammy-nominated band of the same name.

Now critics see the film for what it really is. Part home movie, and proto-music video years before MTV existed. Unlike previous scripted films by those lovable moptops, Magical Mystery Tour’s music isn’t simply a transitional piece from scene to scene; it takes center stage and gives fans a new way to experience them. Each song tells a story, from “Fool on the Hill” to “I Am the Walrus.” Between each tune are Monty Python styled silliness that included surreal midgets, visual gags and a visit to a strip club. The home movie aspect to the film with Ringo and his Aunt Jessie arguing through the trip is now much clearer. It shows our heros (wizards) during a slice of their magical lives in vibrant color and high resolution. And its more popular than ever, as the remastered Magical Mystery Tour DVD entered the Billboard Top Music Video chart at No. 1 for the week ending October 27, 2012. The more you explore the film, the better it gets. The website is another marvel, using Ringo’s sketch as navigation with bits from the movie, all arranged in a tumblr-styled layout with history and behind the scenes commentary — visit http://www.magicalmysterytour.com and tell your friends “Goo goo gajoob!”

3 Comments

I agree with you, lyrics are far ore important sonically than what they happen to mean.

My 100 favorite Beatles Songs:

1. Can’t Buy Me Love
2. I Feel Fine
3. Revolution
4. It Won’t Be Long
5. A Hard Day’s Night
6. Come Together
7. Ticket To Ride
8. Hello Goodbye
9. She Loves You
10. Eight Days A Week
11. Nowhere Man
12. Penny Lane
13. All My Loving
14. Please Please Me
15. Savoy Truffle
16. Tell Me Why
17. All I’ve Gotta Do
18. Rain
19. I’ll Cry Instead
20. I Saw Her Standing There
21. All You Need is Love
22. Twist And Shout
23. A Day In The Life
24. I Want To Hold Your Hand
25. You’re Going To Lose That Girl
26. Love Me Do
27. Rock And Roll Music
28. Don’t Let Me Down
29. You Can’t Do That
30. I Should Have Known Better
31. Glass Onion
32. I’m A Loser
33. This Boy
34. Help!
35. She’s A Woman
36. The Ballad of John and Yoko
37. Get Back
38. Something
49. We Can Work it Out
40. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
41. Roll Over Beethoven
42. Run For Your Life
43. Revolution I
44. The Night Before
45. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
46. Day Tripper
47. Let It Be
48. Across The Universe
49. Here, There And Everywhere
50. I’ll Be Back
51. Paperback Writer
52. And Your Bird Can Sing
53. From Me To You
54. Any Time At All
55. Magical Mystery Tour
56. Getting Better
57. Hey Jude
58. Lady Madonna
59. Back in the U.S.S.R.
60. Birthday
61. Yes it Is
62. Good Day Sunshine
63. It’s Only Love
64. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
65. Strawberry Fields Forever
66. With A Little Help From My Friends
67. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
68. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
69. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby
70. No Reply
71. Here Comes The Sun
72. Baby’s In Black
73. Yesterday
74. Drive My Car
75. There’s A Place
76. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
77. Thank You Girl
78. When I Get Home
79. You Like Me Too Much
80. In My Life
81. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
82. Little Child
83. I’ll Get You
84. Misery
85. Kansas City
86. Do You Want To Know A Secret
87. I’m Down
88. Another Girl
89. Girl
90. You Won’t See Me
91. Words of Love
92. Things We Said Today
93. She’s Leaving Home
94. Got To Get You Into My Life
95. Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite
96. I’m Only Sleeping
97. Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds
98. Every Little Thing
99. I Want To Tell You
100. Hold Me Tight